16 July 2010

Le Tour 2010 - Stage 11

Started out as any other flat stage... morning break away... catch... but then the wind came. We saw an amazing pace set by Team Saxo Bank in defense of Andy Schleck's Yellow Jersey. They tried to dislodge Contador in the cross-wind, but thanks to one team mate, Contador stayed in contact.

Of course, then they started to roll in for the sprint. Robbie Hunter gone for a broken wrist... when a cyclist is telling you it hurts to much to use his hand, you know that he is talking about pain on an almost Biblical level. Tyler Farrar (I've been miss-spelling his name this whole time, sorry) lost one of his lead outs. He was left with Julian Dean, who is no slouch. As things sorted out going into the last 800 meters, we were witness to something I've not seen in racing in a while... HEADBUTTS. Renshaw didn't like the line that Dean took, so he head butted him 3 times. Once Renshaw sprung Cavendish, he peeled off and seemed to come out in front of Tyler, blocking his line. Cavendish won, Farrar showing excellent speed. He'll win a stage... I have faith... but luck keeps getting in his way.

As far as Renshaw being kicked off the tour... I honestly think it was earned. He seemed to go out of his way to impair the Garman riders. You can't do that. The rivalry between these two teams is starting to become a way to sell tickets. This will only add to that fire. Garman and HTC are two of the strongest American teams (Radio Shack being the third... BMC is still too new). If one of them ever gets a true GC contender, will the other sabotage? As a sports fan, man I hope that scenario comes out.

Again, watch Versus, their coverage is awesome. That and tones of adds for Inception and The Expendibles...